Bethesda Free Church

In the first of five articles looking at the fringes of faith in the North East, Charlie Turnbull 
visits the Bethesda Free Church

Going for a drink with a few friends is usually a relaxing practice, and it's a good way to get to know people, which is what I was trying to do, so when I was asked "would you eat a baby?" the sense of relaxation vanished, and I felt very on-the-spot.

The Bethesda Free Church was set up in 1844 by Arthur Augustus Rees was originally a clergyman in the Church of England. He was driven out of the established church as Bishops wouldn't let him preach what he wanted. He decided the Church of Bethesda should be a free church as he wan to 'fly the mast of denomination'.

A free church simply means not part of the Church of England. However, The Bethesda Free Church is also independent. They don’t have any figures like Bishops and there isn’t a head of the church, only a Pastor to preach the word of God. This is because they believe that there shouldn’t be anyone in the way of them and God, everyone should have an equal connection. Being independent from the Church of England also means that they oversee their own funds, so they can decide what money goes where.

The Bethesda Free Church, unlike the Church of England, won’t baptise children. This is because they believe people should choose to be baptised. They also want people to know what it means to be baptised into the Bethesda church.

I found out about the Bethesda Free Church by searching for lesser known religions in Sunderland on Google, as part of my preliminary research for these series of articles. I found an email address on their website and sent some questions over, which, were answered quickly and enthusiastically. From there I arranged, with the associate pastor of the church Alan Campbell, to go to one of the groups bible study meetings. These are held every Wednesday evening.

When I got eventually got to the meeting, after trying vigorously to get in through the locked back door of the wrong building, I was late so had to slip into the back row whilst the group conducted their opening hymn. It was clear I was an 'outsider' as I was sheepishly looking around for any indication of what was going on. My contact found me quite quickly. After the hymn was over it was time for the bible study, which, like in any church, was done with the pastor stood at the front, on a stage, with a lectern in front of him.

When the meeting was over I was given a tour of the church. It is one of the three sites they operate from in Sunderland. The church is where they do bible studies and hold baptisms. It’s clear they don’t baptise children by the sheer size of the mammoth bathtub they use, which is comparable to an Olympic swimming pool, which they bring up from the floor.

The church has two main rooms. One is smaller, where they hold the bible study groups, it’s quite a plain room which something you’d hire from a local community centre for a toddler’s birthday party. On the wall behind the stage there’s a bible passage. The other room, which is bigger and much more aesthetic, looks like a traditional church. Complete with pews, a pulpit, a beautiful organ and is home to that aquatic crevasse of a baptism pool.




One of the bible studies I attended was about submission to God and in terms of marriage. During this the pastor said the wife should submit to the husband because that’s what God wants us to do and we can’t fully be submitted to him if we don’t do everything he says. He also said that he would never marry a believer and a non-believer because nothing should get in the way one’s belief in God and if one person doesn’t believe then it won’t work.

After he had finished I got a chance to speak to Stephen Boreland, Pastor of the Bethesdan Free Church.

He said: "I know what I was saying today was a bit of a taboo subject but it is what it teaches in the bible, and it’s my job to teach people the full word of God, not just the easy stuff."

At all the meetings I went to I couldn’t help but notice the amount of youth who were in attendance, and not just kids who were dragged along by their parents. There were people aged between 15-25 who came of their own accord on a Wednesday night which, as any good student knows, is student night in Sunderland.

I spoke to Victoria Young, one of the younger people in attendance and plays the piano for hymns.

She said: “We are all close in this church, we are all friends who like to do things together, outside of the too. We have done things like hiking and rock-climbing as well as the things we do together in church like going and handing out grit when It gets icy.” “We also have a tradition where on Christmas eve we all stay in and watch a movie together, and we all love it.”

Also, among the younger attendees, was Nathan Davidson who told me of a tradition they had at Christmas.

“We have a tradition where on Christmas eve we all stay in and watch a movie together, and we all love it.” He said.

We went for a drink in the station lounge after the bible study session. I explained to everyone what I was doing and asked a few questions. At no point was I trying to put my own ideas on religion forward, but I was asked about my religious beliefs and I said I didn’t have any.

It was at this point that Alan asked me “Would you eat a baby?” I think I gave a jokey answer and tried to laugh it off saying something like “depends how annoying it was being” Alan just gave me a look, so I knew then, he was being serious.

Alan said: “No-one would eat a baby but we all could because we know it’s wrong, but where did we get this sense of right and wrong from? It’s given to us by God.” He went on to say: “We all know things like murder are wrong because God made us that way but he also gave us free will and allows us to make our own choices.”

I knew that argument I put forward he would have an answer to, so I just agreed.

I enjoyed my time at the church and liked some of the tings the believed, like baptism being a choice. They also do a lot of good work for the community. They give out grit to people when it gets icy and even hold a homework club where kids can go once a week after school to get help with their work. However, I did think some of their ideas are out dated, like their stance on gay marriage and what the pastor said about not marrying a believer to a none believer.